Broom Street is open again! On Friday night, much to the delight of many surprised drivers (including me), the road was painted, the construction equipment gone and the street re-opened officially.

I thought the 2009 downtown construction season was tough, when the intersection of Broom Street and Gorham Street was being re-done. That’s because two bottle necks converged on that intersection, only to be greeted with more road construction on University Avenue.

This summer proved an equal, if not greater, challenge in the rest of Broom Street (West Doty to West Johnson) being closed completely for the “replacement of asphalt pavement, concrete curb and gutter, sidewalk as necessary, storm, sanitary and water main systems and laterals and new pedestrian lighting,” according to the City of Madison.

I think Broom Street and the aforementioned intersection should have been done at the same time, since construction on the former essentially kept away most traffic from the latter. Then again, most city planning in regards to construction areas and timetables never makes sense.

At least Broom Street will be available when the second Ride the Drive takes place. With so few streets open downtown during the first Ride the Drive, it took nearly 20 min. to drive four blocks (I know because I was stuck).